New measures are being prepared to boost the protection of household service workers (HSWs) who are working or are about to work abroad.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz vowed to move decisively in reviewing the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s guidelines on the matter.
“There is a call for the DOLE to really make a serious effort to protect the most vulnerable of our OFWs — the household service workers — so it is high time for us to review the HSW reform package,” Baldoz said during a consultative meeting with the DOLE’s labor attaches who are now in the Philippines.
Baldoz said the review is in line with President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino’s 22-point labor and employment agenda, particularly on the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and on addressing the social costs of migration.
The agenda calls for the DOLE to work closely with communities and families of OFWs to provide effective social welfare services, and to pursue and prosecute those engaging in illegal and predatory activities.
Such people include fixers, scammers, and especially traffickers who target women and children.
During the consultative meeting, Baldoz impressed upon the labor attaché corps the need to quickly bring home all distressed OFWs, particularly the HSWs, in all Filipino Workers Resource Centers in all labor offices worldwide.
She also reminded them to ensure they are given full and complete social and economic assistance to facilitate their re-integration into their families and home communities upon their return.
“Our marching orders are clear. We really have to act quickly and show concrete results in terms of ensuring full protection to all OFWs,” Baldoz said.
Other initial measures that Baldoz discussed included:
Ensuring that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority improves the quality of its skills assessment and certification system for HSWs before they leave abroad;
Tapping qualified OFWs who have returned to the country to provide their services in pre-departure orientation seminars;
Directing the POEA to strictly enforce its ‘no reprocessing’ policy;
Directing the labor offices to implement improved accreditation of HSW employers and the blacklisting of abusive ones, as well as the preventive suspension of erring licensed recruitment agencies deploying HSWs;
Improving and fast-tracking case build-up on welfare cases;
Strict monitoring of HSW training, including the worker’s personal appearance in pre-departure orientation seminar and post-arrival orientation; and
Working closely with host governments, as well as with officials of other government agencies, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, to ensure that HSWs who leave undergo strict legal processes.
Baldoz pledged to exercise firm resolve in seeing to it that the HSW reform package that she initiated in 2006 will be revitalized as a tool not only to combat human trafficking, but also as a social protective mechanism for the most vulnerable among OFWs.
The US State Department’s 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report placed the Philippines under Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year, indicating that the country was unable to meet minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but are making efforts to comply.
“The (Philippine) government did not show evidence of significant progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking,” the report stated. – JMA, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV
Bakit kailangan ang mga repormang ito?
* Para sa proteksyon at pangangalaga sa mga HSWs – Proteksyon kaino? Di bam as kelangan ata ng proteksyon sa inyo kasi kayo ang nagapapahirap sa mga HSW? Bago pa man nagpadala ng mga skilled workers ang Pilipinas sa ibang bansa nangunguna na nag HSW or DH mangibang bansa. We do not see the relevance of all these changes since ganun pa din naman ang takbo sa gobyerno.
* Para mapataas ang antas ng kaalaman – So you mean yung mga nakaalis na dating OFW (before niyo pa ipatupad yan) na naging matagumpay sa kanilang buhay eh dahil sa inyo? What they reap now is because maabilidad ang Pilipino, it’s not a question of higher learning kasi nakita ko ang assessment paper ng TESDA for HSW natawa na lang ako kasi pang tanga lang yung mga tanung dun and yung pagserve ng drinks and pagserve ng food using either hands is for HRM hindi pang DH. San niyo naman nakuha ang ideyang yan?me mga nagreklamo bang mga employer/kung meron ilan? Ilan sa ilang libong DH or HSW ang bilang nila? Sa ganyan eh ginagawa niyo lang tanga ang mga aplikante. Yung trainings niyo na kelangan ganito ang pag gawa ng HOT DRINKS and COLD DRINKS san niyo naman binase yun? Ang employer pa din ang tamang magturo ng gagawin ng DH or HSW kasi sila ang pagsisilbihan at di kayo. How would you know kung ano ang gusto nila? Not all man made rules have basis, lalo na yang TESDA NC2 for HSW or DH. Napaka Pointless nito at napaka baseless and irrelevant na magturo ng tamang paraan sa pagsesreve, pagluluto, paglilinis ng CR, paglalaba, pamamalantsa at iba pa. Kasi yung mga machine na ginagamit niyo sa trainings are also different from the machines that the employers might have, did you ever thought of that?parang pinagastos niyo lang ang mga nag aaply ng HSW at DH sa walang kakwenta kwnetang assessment at training na bukod sa mega effort na sila kasi nanggagaling pa sila sa malalaytung lugar eh napaka mahal pa at walang kwenta. Kung meron mang mga scenario na me nagreklamong mga employer it’s not because hindi marunong ang PINOY kundi maaring ayaw nila sa employer, tinatamad kasi nahohomesick or baka naman hindi katulong ang hanap nila kundi waiter or waitress or hotel workers. Pati yang OWWA na yan kelangan pa ba namang turuan ang mga HSW na ilang beses ng nakapunta sa host country na inaplayan nila? Natural malamang may idea na sila lung pano ang pamamalakad dun at ang culture, unless they are DUMB. Wala naming taong bobo, tamad meron at maarte. Yun ang dapat niyong gawan ng paraan hindi yang higher whatever of learning? We learn things hands on during work not on training, headstart ang training I agree but then if its basic things like cooking and washing dishes and doing laundry which is an everyday life experience for almost everyone. Pointless!